By Christopher Tracy
Krug commissioned three Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II’s in the mid-1980s. One for the European, North American, and Japanese markets. Only one of the cars remains in Krug’s possession and can be found at their headquarters building. The wagon is only brought out for special events. All three wagons had been lost to the world until the company-owned car resurfaced in 2010. There are articles that talk about it being restored then, but no real updates on the restoration since then.
The wagons were designed to deliver not just champagne, but also a memorable picnic. The interior included two refrigerators that could hold up to 16 bottles of champagne (which seems low, unless they were magnum bottles). There are also wood cases that hold champagne glasses, ice buckets, a table and folding chairs, and a tent that can fold out from the rear door. I wasn’t able to track down a picture of the tent erected. When you search “Krug Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II tent” Corbin’s Rolls-Royce comes up in the image results.
Krug unknowingly designed an overland vehicle in the mid-80s! It already had the six and three-quarters V8 engine and the enclosed rear compartment with refrigerators and a tent. It was a suspension lift away from being a capable off-roader. There is a lot of potential for a worldwide tour with a Rolls-Royce. Too bad it’s retired to display duty at Krug HQ.
This is not the normal wagon we are used to seeing, but it is definitely one that caught our eye.
Images courtesy of LVMH & Maxim.
Jeff Glucker
“It was a suspension lift away from being a capable off-roader.”
That seems like an easy enough improvement to make…just need the right donor car.
http://bestride.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/7_-rolls-royce-corniche.jpg
We all know who the driver was: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J0pnU4vRtbc/hqdefault.jpg
The proportions are spot on, but the upright conservative grille really hasn’t aged well with the rest of the car.
Yeah. And that huge hood ornament.
Oh, no, wait. I smoked the wrong stuff for lunch. Can I have some of whatever the hell you be trippin’ on?
“I wasn’t able to track down a picture of the tent erected.”
Since the car was built for promotional events, the tent was probably designed to handle a sizable number of visitors. If you search Google Images for “huge erection”, the results will probably include the tent being put up.
You might also find it by googling “Pitching an enormous tent.”
“The best __________ is a wagon.”
Pretty much applies to all cars.
Sorry for raining on the parade a bit, but surely blank side panels equals van not wagon?
I was going to say: that’s a sedan delivery.
The same term was used in Australia until about the mid-sixties, afterwards panel van.
Yeah, in the States it’s “sedan delivery” for a car-based windowless station wagon, or “panel truck” for a truck-based windowless van. “Van” to an American doesn’t suggest anything derived from a sedan.
In Europe there are van aka commercial versions of lots of vehicles, with no rear seats and varying degrees of adaptation to carry cargo – and this Roller (to expose myself as a heathen) is over there.
A Club Wagon is a Ford van with side windows.
A Cruising Wagon is a Ford Pinto wagon with blank side panels that have inset porthole windows.
https://cfd84b34cf9dfc880d71-bd309e0dbcabe608601fc9c9c352796e.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/Assets/ProductImages/1995EconolineClubWagonEVTM.JPG
https://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/1978-ford-pinto-cruising-wagon_100374469_l.jpg
The Citroen CX Loadrunner is still the ultimate hauler
https://live.staticflickr.com/4394/37118971376_68f2aa1761_b.jpg